FreeTaxUSA 2021 Review

Are you a bargain hunter looking for a way to save money while filing taxes. If so, FreeTaxUSA serves up one of the lowest cost tax software products on the market. 

The tax software still costs money (unlike the totally free tax software from CreditKarma), but it’s a very cheap solution with enough usability for all but the most complex filers.

It’s not as easy to use as H&R Block or TurboTax, but it offers a decent user experience at a bargain price. Is it right for you?

We explain why experienced tax filers (especially those with complicated returns) should definitely consider FreeTaxUSA this year. See how FreeTaxUSA compares to the best tax programs this year, and see how we rank it in our FreeTaxUSA review below. 

Navigation

FreeTaxUSA’s navigation is a hybrid between guided and self-guided navigation. Compared to some more expensive services, FreeTaxUSA feels a bit clunky. You’ll have to know where to enter various bits of information on your own. That said, it does have help bubbles throughout the software. These bubbles have additional information that can help users enter necessary information.

Despite some of the clunkiness, FreeTaxUSA is a very usable software given the price point. For example, FreeTaxUSA has a “Where do I enter” link on the right side of the software. This robust list gives links and information about where to enter every form and topic I could think of.

The deductions and credits section and the other sections tend to be more guided, which most users will find helpful.

FreeTaxUSA’s best Navigation feature is its “Summary” section which lists all the information you entered in a single frame. This should make it easy for you to see if you’ve accidentally missed any critical information. Users can also use the navigation bar at the top of the software to jump to different sections if they’ve missed something.

Ease Of Use

Overall, FreeTaxUSA displayed impressive navigation, and helpful information (such as summary screens, and the “Where do I enter?” link). Its calculators (including depreciation calculators, withholdings calculators, credit calculators, and more) were easy to use. Some calculations ran in the background without users needing to touch them.

Despite these many excellent features, FreeTaxUSA is still best for people who have experience filing. People who have no idea how to characterize their income will spend too much time clicking around to figure out the right place to enter information.

Experienced filers will likely understand how to use FreeTaxUSA, and they can handle some of the less elegant sections of the software. People without experience filing may get lost in the FreeTaxUSA software.

One additional feature we've noticed this year is that if you start with their sister product TaxHawk, you can pick up where you left off within FreeTaxUSA. Could be helpful if you're considering the two products. 

Knowledge Articles

FreeTaxUSA serves up relevant knowledge articles in a “Top Issues” link on the right side of the screen. The software also has a search function for finding relevant articles. The articles themselves tended to be an appropriate length. Most included hyperlinks to relevant sections. The “library” of knowledge articles and the depth of the articles is impressive given the low cost of filing through FreeTaxUSA.

Who Should Use FreeTaxUSA 2021?

FreeTaxUSA maintains its position as a top tax software choice for bargain hunters. Although it’s not totally free, the functionality is excellent, especially if you have a variety of income sources.

You can’t import forms which makes it a little more cumbersome than H&R Block, TaxSlayer, but it’s also much less expensive than the competition.

FreeTaxUSA should be on the short list for consideration for most tax filers.

Try FreeTaxUSA here >>>

Have you used FreeTaxUSA? Let us know your thoughts!